


To the Unknown Beloved

by DJBunn3



Series: Unknown [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Acting, Alternate Universe - High School, Bonding, Chatting & Messaging, Fluff, M/M, Parallels, Recasting, References to Shakespeare, School Plays, Twelfth Night - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-03-28 08:02:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13899780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DJBunn3/pseuds/DJBunn3
Summary: The school play is going smoothly.Most of the actors have their lines memorized, the sets are coming along well, props and costumes are mostly finished, the tech crew and the student directors are working together to get the blocking down, tickets are being sold faster than the PR committee can print them, and best of all, Keith has officially joined the Drama club.They have yet to hit an obstacle they can’t overcome, and as the days go by, Lance is starting to believe that it will continue that way. With only a month left before opening night and the entire team being ahead of schedule, he doesn’t see a single way things could go wrong.And thenithappens.---(the Twelfth Night play production. Set two months after Unknown.)





	1. Some are Born Great...

The school play is going smoothly.

Most of the actors have their lines memorized, the sets are coming along well, props and costumes are mostly finished, the tech crew and the student directors are working together to get the blocking down, tickets are being sold faster than the PR committee can print them, and best of all, Keith has officially joined the Drama club.

Okay, so maybe Lance is a little biased. Of course he’s excited that Keith’s helping out with the play, even though he’s only an assistant stage manager. It means they get to spend more time together, and that’s always a good thing. And it also means that Lance gets to show off his costume in front of his boyfriend, which is a plus.

The point is, the play is coming along well. They have yet to hit an obstacle they can’t overcome, and as the days go by, Lance is starting to believe that it will continue that way. With only a month left before opening night and the entire team being ahead of schedule, he doesn’t see a single way things could go wrong.

And then  _ it _ happens.

They’re in the middle of a rehearsal, transitioning between scenes, when April’s phone goes off. Allura sighs, opening her mouth to chastise the class about cell phones again, but she stops when she sees the look on April’s face.

“It’s my mom,” she says, frowning. “She doesn’t call me at school unless it’s important.”

“Oh, alright,” Allura says tiredly, waving her hand towards the door. “Hurry back, though.”

“Thanks.” April hurries towards the door, pressing her phone to her ear.

“Someone needs to read for her while she’s gone,” Allura sighs, glancing around the room. The next scene is the big reveal, meaning most of the characters are already involved. Allura’s frown deepens as she searches for someone to read for April’s character, Olivia, before her eyes finally land a little to Lance’s left.

“Keith,” she says with finality. “Keith will read for Olivia.”

“What? No.” Keith shakes his head violently, eyes wide. Olivia is a big part--it even has a few monologues, though not as many as Orsino. It’s hardly an easy role to fill in for.

“Yes, you will. Only for a few minutes,” Allura replies offhandedly. “Come on, we have a play to rehearse. Go on.”

Lotor takes his place at the edge of the stage, waiting for Orsino to be called in. Fabian and the Fool take the stage and begin their scene, glancing towards the door every now and again.

“Lance,” Keith says, tugging on his hair anxiously. “I can’t do this. What scene are we on? Where do I stand? God, I can’t act. What do I do?”

“Relax, babe,” Lance says, grabbing a script off the edge of the stage and flipping to Act V Scene I. “You’re reading for Olivia. All you have to do is stand there and say the lines. April will be back soon, okay?”

Lotor steps onto the stage along with Hunk, Viola, and a few of the Lords. He gestures in wide sweeping motions to the Fool as he delivers his lines. “Belong you to Lady Olivia, friends?” he asks in a noble voice, chin tilted upwards.

“ Ay, sir; we are some of her trappings,” the Fool replies, then glances at the door again. Clearly the other actors have about as much faith in Keith as he does.

Keith flips through the pages of the script furiously as the scene unfolds. Lotor as Orsino trades lines back and forth with the Fool, Lotor seeming unaffected by the temporary change of cast. Antonio and the Officer enter after a minute, and then it’s finally Keith’s cue to enter.

Lotor looks expectantly towards the other end of the stage, and Keith stumbles on awkwardly. “Here comes the countess,” Lotor says, gesturing to Keith with the same overdramatic motions. “Now heaven walks on Earth. But for thee, fellow; fellow, thy words are madness: three months this youth hath tended upon me. But more of that anon. Take him aside.”

“Uh…” Keith stares down at the borrowed script. “What would my lord, but that he may not have… wherein Olivia may seem… serviceable?”

Lotor breaks character for a second, nodding approvingly despite Keith’s awful delivery. Keith nods back, then continues to read. “Cesario, you do not keep promise with me,” he says flatly. Lance is fairly sure he has no idea who Cesario is, let alone that he’s actually Viola.

“Madam!” Viola exclaims, then looks sheepishly at Keith.

“Gracious Olivia,” Lotor continues.

“What do you say, Cesario? Good my lord?” Everything Keith reads sounds like a question, not a statement, and Lance notes that his back is facing the audience. He glances towards Allura and sees her shaking her head dramatically.

“My lord would speak,” Viola says with a strong voice. “My duty hushes me.”

“If it be aught to the old tune, my lord, it is as fat and fulsome to mine ear as howling after music,” Keith reads unsteadily.

“Still so cruel?” Lotor retorts.

“Still so constant,” Keith shoots back. “Lord.”

“What, to perverseness?” Lotor paces the stage, his face stormy. It’s not part of his blocking, but no one stops him. He has a way with making the stage his own, and it somehow always works. “You uncivil lady, to whose ingrate and unauspicious altars my soul the faithfullest offerings hath breathed out that e’er devotion tender’d! What shall I do?”

The door bursts open. Everyone on the stage jumps, breaking character completely as April walks down to the stage, phone clutched tightly in hand.

“Allura, we have a problem,” she says, just loudly enough for Lance to hear her.

“What? What happened?” Allura asks, frowning. Her frown deepens as April explains the situation to her.

“This can’t be happening.” Allura runs a hand through her hair, stressed. “Are you sure you can’t ask her to wait- no, that’s ridiculous. Do you think you can come back for the production?”

“I don’t know,” April says, shaking her head helplessly. “But it wouldn’t do much good. We’re leaving in a week, and I still don’t have my costume fitted or my blocking down… I’m so sorry, Allura.”

“Oh, don’t apologize,” Allura says quickly. “It isn’t your fault. This is just… a lot to take in.”

“What’s going on?” Lotor asks, jumping down from the stage. “Is everything alright?”

The rest of the actors gather around, looking just as concerned as Allura. Lance goes to stand with them, dread sinking into his stomach.

“My mom got a job in Denver,” April says hesitantly. “She starts next week, and we’re going with her.”

“You’re  _ moving _ ?!” someone exclaims, shocked.

“But the play is in a month!”

“What are we going to do?”

“Everyone, that’s enough!” Allura exclaims. “We’re going to support April and her mother. This is a wonderful opportunity for their family, and I’m very happy for them.”

“But what are we going to do about Olivia?” Lance asks. The theater community in the Garrison is fairly small compared to the sports teams and other clubs, and Olivia is a challenging role even for the better actors in the school. April was the best suited person for the role, and even she had trouble with delivery and voice.

“We’ll have to recast,” Allura says gravely. “April’s right. She doesn’t have enough time to practice everything and come back for the opening night.”

“But there’s already so much to do!” Hunk protests.

“We have no choice,” Allura replies, shaking her head. “This is our only option. We’ll just have to work harder from now on.”

“But who can fill the role?” somebody asks. Murmurs of agreement go around the room. There’s already one actor who’s double-cast as the Captain and the Officer, and everyone else already has a role. Unless they can find an acting prodigy who hasn’t signed up yet, they’re basically screwed.

Everyone looks around uneasily, unsure of what to do. Losing an actor one month before the opening night is a serious problem, one they never thought they’d have to work around.

“I could do it,” Lotor says, stepping forward. All eyes turn to him.

“What do you mean?” Allura says, looking confused. “You’re already cast as Orsino, Lotor. There’s no way you can play  _ both _ roles.”

“Then I won’t,” Lotor replies cooly. “I can play Olivia, and we can re-cast Orsino.”

“Why wouldn’t we just re-cast Olivia?” Hunk asks. “Wouldn’t that be easier?”

“No, Lotor’s right,” Allura says, her eyes brightening. “Lotor is an amazing actor. He can pull off Olivia for sure, even if it will take a lot of work. But Orsino is almost as challenging, especially now that we’re all adjusted to the way things are now.”

“I don’t know about this,” one of the actors says. “I mean, there has to be  _ someone _ else who can play Olivia, or some way April can come back for the production.”

“Lotor knows Olivia’s character well,” April argues. “He has a quick memory and a lot of skill. Plus it will be an interesting casting choice.”

Lance frowns. Sure, Lotor would be an amazing Olivia, but they’ll have to do some  _ serious _ re-arranging of the cast if this is going to work.

“Does anyone have any objections to Lotor taking on the role of Olivia?” Allura asks, looking around the circle expectantly. Not a single person raises their hand, despite their nervous expressions. “Then it’s settled.”

“But what about Orsino?” Hunk asks. “That’s a huge role. Who could handle something like that with a month left?”

“Lance,” Lotor says confidently. Lance’s eyes widen as everyone turns to him. He must have heard wrong, he  _ must _ have. Surely Lotor hadn’t actually said…

“What?” he chokes out.

“You should play Orsino,” Lotor says, sounding as casual as he had when he’d asked Lance if the roles were up months ago. “Your memory isn’t wonderful, but you’re a passionate actor, and a dedicated one as well. Orsino is expressive and a romantic at heart. I think you could relate to him a lot.”

Lance blushes, remembering his whole Unknown fantasy from a few months ago. A lot of that drama  _ had _ been caused because of Lance’s stubborn clinginess to the idea of a perfect romance with Lotor. Of course, he’s pretty sure Lotor doesn’t know about any of that, but it’s still embarrassing to think about.

“Lance?” Allura prompts. “What do you think? Can you handle it?”

“I…” Lance glances across the circle to Hunk, who’s giving him a thumbs up. “I think I can,” he manages at last. To tell the truth, he’s extremely doubtful, but with everyone counting on him, there’s no way he can say no and let them down.

“Wonderful,” Allura says. “This might work. Yes, I think it will!”

“I can help run lines,” April offers. “And I can alter the costumes for Lance and Lotor.”

“What about Valentine?” Lance asks, turning his attention back to Allura. Valentine is a small, unimportant role, but they still need someone to fill it in order for the play to go well.

“Yes, that’s right…” Allura frowns. “Is there anyone here who wants to take on the role?”

Not a single person raises their hand. Allura looks around once again, considering each of the students around her before moving on. Once again, her eyes fall on Keith.

“Oh no,” Keith says quietly, shaking his head again. “Oh no, no, no no no.”

“It would take a lot of work,” Allura says, ignoring him. “Hunk, Lance, and Lotor could help you with delivery, and you’ve already been here for the blocking. Plus, you and Lance are around the same size in clothing, so the costume wouldn’t need any adjustments.”

“Allura, I  _ can’t act _ ,” Keith argues, stepping forward. “You saw me up there! I mean, I’ve never even been in a play before!”

“Keith, listen to me,” Allura says. “We have  _ one month _ until opening night. With all the other cast changes, you’re the most convenient person to take on the role. You’re already involved in Theater Arts and Drama Club, you know the play well enough to get by, and you can fit into Lance’s costume better than any of our other options. Will you please,  _ please _ just consider it?”

“I- I don’t-” Keith stammers. “I mean- Maybe?”

“Thank you,” Allura says. “Lotor, Lance, Keith, thank you for being so flexible and helping us out. It will take a lot of work, but we might actually be able to pull this off. Now, let’s get to work!”

The group scatters, set designers and costumers heading to their stations to make adjustments, actors going to rehearse the scenes that they can, and Lance, Keith, Lotor, Hunk, and April lingering back.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Lance asks, heading over to Keith. “It’s a small role, but if you’re uncomfortable…”

“I can do it,” Keith replies, still sounding unsure. “What about you? Orsino is a pretty demanding part. Do you think you can pull it off?”

“I don’t know,” Lance says with a shrug. “But I’m sure as hell gonna try.”

“April, you’ll need to help Lotor adjust to playing Olivia,” Allura commands. “And Lotor, the same goes for you and Lance. Hunk can probably help you with Valentine, Keith, but you may want to check in with Lance anyway.”

“Of course,” Lotor says with a nod.

“We’ll get right on that,” April adds. Lance sighs, feeling tired just from the thought of learning all of Orsino’s lines.

So much for the play going smoothly.

* * *

“If music be the food of love, play on,” Lance recites, pacing his room. “Give me excess of it, that suffering- no, that,  _ surfeiting _ , the appetite may die. No, may  _ sicken _ and so die! That strain again! It had a dying fall. O, it came o’er my ear like the sweet sound that breathes upon a bank of daffodils-”

“Violets,” Pilar interrupts, looking up from the script. She’s sitting on his bed, a book propped open in her lap and a script laying flat on top of it. “It’s violets.”

“ _ De madre _ ,” Lance sighs, frustrated. They’ve been going over Duke Orsino’s opening monologue for half an hour, and it only seems to be getting worse. “I never should have agreed to this.”

“Come on, take a break,” Pilar says. “You’re getting worked up, and it’s not helping your memorization.”

“Yeah, I know.” Lance sighs again. “You were in a school play once. How did you do it?”

“Well, I had more than a month to learn my lines, for one thing,” Pilar says. “But I took a lot of breaks, and I wrote the lines down over and over again. Writing things down is better for memorization than reading, you know.”

“Really? That’s actually a good idea.” Lance goes over to his school bag and pulls out a pen and paper. “So you just write the lines down?”

“I thought I told you to take a break,” Pilar says, frowning.

“I don’t have time for a break. The sooner I get off-book again, the better it is for everyone.”

“But you won’t get anywhere if you keep going like this,” Pilar points out. “Come on, I’ll make hot chocolate.”

“ _ Fine _ ,” Lance relents. “But then we get right back to practicing, okay?”

“Deal.”

The two of them head to the kitchen, where Pilar pulls out milk and a bar of candy cane chocolate and sets them both on the counter. “So, how’s Keith dealing with his role?” she asks.

“He’s freaking out about it,” Lance replies, taking a seat at the kitchen table. “Hunk and Pidge and I are gonna meet at his house tomorrow and run lines and practice delivery and projection.”

“Sounds like fun,” Pilar says, setting the kettle on the stove. “And Lotor?”

“He’ll do great,” Lance says. “Olivia’s a hard role, but he’s probably the best actor in the Garrison. If there’s anyone who can pull it off besides April, it’s him.”

“And nobody’s worried about Olivia being a guy?”

“Nah.” Lance shakes his head. “It’s actually pretty cool, you know? Allura called it an ‘interesting casting choice’.”

“That it is,” Pilar agrees, breaking the chocolate into pieces. They wait in silence while the milk heats up, then Pilar pours it into two cups and stirs chocolate pieces into them until it’s all melted together. She grabs a can of whipped cream from the fridge, sprays it on generously, and carries the cups over to the table, sliding one in front of Lance.

“Do you think everything will work out?” she asks, sipping her hot chocolate. Lance shrugs, unwilling to admit his doubts.

“Allura knows what she’s doing,” he says finally. “She wouldn’t have switched everything around if there was a better way to get a new Olivia.”

“Allura  _ is _ a good teacher,” Pilar agrees. “And you and Lotor are good actors. I don’t know about Keith, but I bet he’ll do okay with all of your help.”

“You think so?” Lance asks hopefully. Pilar’s reassurance always puts his worries to ease, especially now that all of their drama is in the past.

“Of course I do,” Pilar replies. “Mami and Papi are coming, and Violeta, and Florona, remember? If you still want her to come.”

“Obviously,” Lance says, rolling his eyes. He’s secretly glad that Pilar is so confident in Allura and the play, and that she and Flora are still planning on coming.

“I, for one, am excited to see it,” Pilar says. “Especially now that you’ve got such a big part. That must be pretty exciting for you, huh?”

“Yeah,” Lance replies with a smile. “The bigger roles are supposed to go to the upperclassmen, but Allura made an exception for me.”

“Well, of course,” Pilar says. “Come on, drink your hot chocolate. Then we can go back to practicing.”

“If music be the food of love,” Lance recites, feeling better already, “play on.”

* * *

“Valentine only has like, three lines,” Pidge says, flipping through the script skeptically. “And one of them is only three words long. Even Curio has more lines than you. Lance, why didn’t you sign up for a bigger part in the first place?”

“I’m glad that you didn’t,” Keith groans. “This first line is so  _ long _ . And I have to call you ‘my lord’.”

“I didn’t sign up for a big part this year so it would be more fair when I got the main role next year,” Lance says. “Also, I kind of liked that the character was called Valentine. And he had a few lines with Orsino.”

“So you really just did it to talk to Lotor,” Hunk says. “Classic.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I did, because now Keith’s biggest line is with me,” Lance says, crossing his arms defensively. “So there. No regrets.”

“Can we please go back to practicing lines?” Keith begs. “I’ve already forgotten everything I just memorized.”

“Aw, really?” Pidge sighs. “We worked so hard, too.”

“My brain wasn’t designed to memorize Shakespeare.”

Lance rolls his eyes, flipping to the first scene of the play and handing his script to Pidge. “Correct me if I mess up,” he says, and launches into his opening monologue. He’d spent a lot of time writing the lines down during class, and it actually seems to have helped a lot. He even remembers to say violets instead of daffodils or lavender or any of the other flowers he’d mistaken it for.

“Good job!” Pidge exclaims when he’s done. “Want to keep going?”

“Let’s,” Lance says.

“Curio?”

“Will you go hunt, my lord?” Hunk asks, glancing at Pidge for reassurance.

“Hunting what, Curio?”

“The hart.”

“Why so I do, the noblest that I have,” Lance recites. “Oh, when mine eyes did see Olivia first, methought she purged the air of pestilence! That instant was I turn’d into a hart, and my desires, like fell and cruel hounds, ever since pursue me.”

“This is where Keith enters,” Pidge says, looking down at the script. “Still your line, though.”

“How now! What news from her?”

“So please, my lord,” Keith says, rolling his eyes at ‘my lord’. “I might not be admitted, but her handmaid told me this-”

“But from her handmaid do return this answer,” Pidge corrects, shaking her head. “We’ve been over this, Keith. You have to stick to the script.”

“The script is like, a thousand years old, and it sucks,” Keith argues. “I don’t even know what any of this stuff means! I can barely keep track of the characters, and the plot makes no sense.”

“It’s about love,” Lance says, trying to find a good way to explain it. “Orsino thinks he’s in love with Olivia, but he’s subconsciously falling in love with his new servant Cesario, who’s actually a girl named Viola in disguise. And Viola has a twin who she thinks is dead, but he actually ends up in the same area as her, and Olivia falls in love with him after she realizes that she can’t be with Viola.”

“You’re Viola, Keith,” Pidge says. “Unknown is Cesario. Lance is Orsino, and Lotor is Olivia.”

“Now that you mention it, you’re kind of right,” Hunk says, chuckling. “What a weird coincidence.”

Lance nods in agreement. Now that he thinks about it, that whole Unknown fiasco  _ does _ relate a lot to the play. He’d been in the role of Orsino, blindly and misguidedly in love with the lady Olivia (or Lotor) who was intent on getting to know Viola disguised as Cesario (or Keith disguised as Unknown) who had secretly fallen for him.

“That makes me and Hunk side roles, like Curio and Maria or something,” Pidge continues. “As for the twin, Sebastian, I’m not really sure that there is one. Maybe it’s Acxa?”

“Acxa and Lotor? No way,” Keith says, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “They’re like weird siblings.”

“Whatever, maybe it’s not Acxa,” Pidge replies with a wave of her hand. “Are you going to finish your line now?”

“Fine,” Keith groans. “So please, my lord, I might not be admitted, but from her handmaid does return this answer: The element itself, till seven years’ heat shall not… Shall not  _ what _ ?”

“Shall not behold her face at ample view,” Pidge reminds him, barely having to glance at the script to remember. They’ve been over this scene too many times to count, and even Lance is starting to memorize Keith’s lines just from hearing them over and over again.

“Shall not behold her face at ample view,” Keith repeats stiffly, glaring. He’s getting frustrated, Lance realizes.

“Maybe we should take a break,” he suggests, taking the script back from Pidge. “Working too hard on this won’t get us anywhere. Besides, you guys can finally see Keith’s room for yourself.”

They’ve been hanging out in the living room of the Yeun/Cadbury household since they’d arrived after school. It’s only the second time Lance has been to Keith’s house, and he’s interested in seeing what his room is like again. Lance’s room back home is covered in old movie posters, and it’s got a blue desk and an old wooden computer chair and a shelf of swimming trophies. Keith doesn’t have rows of trophies neatly displayed on the shelf, but he does have a few posters and pictures of his friends and family. Lance wonders if he’s put any photos of them up since he’d last been there.

“Okay,” Keith says, turning towards the staircase, “but it’s not that cool. I don’t have a lot of decorations.”

“Man, you should have seen Pidge’s room when she first moved here,” Hunk says, following their lead and standing. “It was almost completely empty. I don’t even think she unpacked her clothes for like, months after she got here.”

“Hunk!” Pidge whines. “That was a long time ago! Things were different.”

“Now she’s got all these cool pride flags,” Lance says. “And a microscope. She keeps it in her bedroom like a nerd.”

“Shut up,” Pidge grumbles as they climb up the stairs. Lance finds himself looking around at the framed photos in the hall, the school awards Acxa had apparently won, the paintings hanging on the walls. He hadn’t noticed how homey Keith’s house was before.

Keith reaches his door and opens it slowly, looking inside as if to see if he’d left anything embarrassing out. He steps inside, leaving the door open for the rest of them as they make their way in.

“Nice place, Keith,” Hunk says, looking around appreciatively. Lance takes in the room as well, noting a new pile of CDs on Keith’s plain wooden desk and a red hoodie with the tag still on hung on the closest post of his bed. Keith picks it up and throws it carelessly into his closet, then sits at the foot of his bed.

“It’s alright,” he says with a shrug. “Acxa says I should decorate more.”

“ _ Acxa _ is giving you advice on interior decoration?” Lance asks disbelievingly. “That’s kind of hard to believe.”

“Acxa’s not that different from Pilar,” Keith replies, smoothing his hands along his covers and gesturing for the others to sit. “You really need to let go of this whole ‘royalty of the Garrison’ thing.”

“To be fair, he’s not fanboying over Lotor anymore,” Pidge points out helpfully.

“Yeah, ‘cause I already  _ have _ a boyfriend,” Lance says. “And he’s amazing, and he’s gonna memorize his lines and do great in the play.”

“Ugh,” Keith groans. “I thought we were taking a break from talking about the play.”

“We’re taking a break from memorizing lines,” Pidge corrects him.

“Same thing.”

Hunk sighs, leaning back and resting his head against the wall. “God, the play is stressing me out. And I didn’t even have to change my part or anything.”

“I can imagine,” Pidge agrees. “Lance, how are you not like, freaking out? You’ve got one month to memorize one of the biggest parts in the whole play!”

“Yeah, you seem pretty calm,” Keith agrees. “What’s your secret?”

“I don’t know.” Lance shrugs, playing with the edge of his sweater. There’s a loose thread near the zipper that’s been driving him crazy for weeks. “Pilar kind of talked me out of freaking out yesterday, I guess.”

He pulls at the string, and it snaps off in his fingers.

“Well, at least one of us is calm,” Keith says, sliding off of his bed and onto the floor. “I can’t believe I let Allura talk me into this. I’m going to single-handedly ruin the play, and then I’ll never be able to show my face at school again.”

“For someone who can’t act, you sure are a drama queen,” Pidge says. “Try channeling some of  _ that _ into Valentine.”

“So please, my lord,” Keith says, his voice laced with sarcastic verve. “I might not be admitted…”

“That’s actually better than it was before,” Lance says, shaking his head.

“Still, we’ve got a long way to go.” Pidge opens her script, flipping to the first scene, which the three of them share. “I know we’re supposed to be on a break, but maybe a change of scenery will help.”

“Ugh,” Keith groans again.

“Come on. Act One, Scene One, Duke Orsino’s place.” Pidge pauses, waiting for protest, but when none comes, she continues to read. “Enter Duke Orsino, Curio, and other Lords, musicians attending…”

* * *

“Enter Olivia and Malvolio,” Allura directs, gesturing for the actors to walk onto the stage. “Music, please.”

The sound director of the tech crew pokes her head out from backstage sheepishly. “Just a second,” she stage-whispers. Allura sighs and motions again for the actors.

Lotor struts forward confidently, looking exactly like Lance used to picture him in his head back when he’d thought Lotor was perfect. It’s a little exaggerated, but still.

“Take the fool away,” Lotor commands, chin tilted forward. His tone is a little too harsh and nasal for Olivia, but otherwise his delivery is spot-on.

“Do you not hear, fellows?” the Fool replies cheekily. “Take away the lady.”

“Go to, you're a dry fool,” Lotor says. “I'll no more of you. Besides, you grow dishonest.”

“He’s amazing,” Keith whispers from his place backstage. “It’s like he’s totally a different person.”

“I know, right?” Lance agrees. Lotor’s acting skill is seriously adorable, especially compared to his normal stoic personality. Despite all the chaos it caused, he has to admit that Lotor was definitely the right choice for Olivia.

“What are they gonna do for his costume?” Hunk asks, not taking his eyes off the stage.

“I guess they’ll just adjust the sizing and braid his hair or something,” Keith replies with a snort. “Are they gonna put makeup on him? Oh god, are they gonna put makeup on  _ us _ ?”

“Sorry, buddy,” Hunk says, patting him on the shoulder sympathetically. “Welcome to the world of theater.”

“Where is the music?” Allura asks, crossing her arms impatiently. The sound director peeks out again, then hurries across the stage quickly.

“The files got deleted,” she explains, shifting from foot to foot nervously. “We lost all our samples.”

“Are you serious?!” Allura exclaims, then sighs, pinching her nose. “Hold on, alright? I’ll be with you in a minute. Orsino, Viola, Curio, why don’t you run Scene Four while these two finish.”

“Are you sure?” Lance asks. If the tech crew is having problems, shouldn’t they wait until it’s sorted to keep practicing scenes?

“Just run lines or something,” Allura replies quietly. “Keith, you can help them if you’d like.”

Lance stands and follows Hunk to a circle of chairs set up in the middle of the auditorium. They sit down next to each other, Keith next to Lance and Viola’s actress one seat away from Hunk on the other side of the circle. “Want to start?” Lance asks, handing his script to Keith.

Keith nods, and begins to read. “Act Two, Scene Four, Duke Orsino’s palace. Enter Duke Orsino, Viola, Curio, and others.”

Lance clears his throat and starts reciting his line. “Give me some music. Now, good morrow, friends. Now, good Cesario, but that piece of song, that old and antique song we heard last night? Methought it did relieve my passion much, more than light airs and recollected terms of these most brisk and giddy-paced times. Come, but one verse.”

“He is not here,” Hunk replies, “so please your lordship that should sing it.”

“Who was it?” Lance asks.

“Feste, the jester, my lord. A fool that the lady Olivia's father took much delight in.” Hunk falters, then turns to Keith.

“He is about the house,” Keith reminds him, looking up from the script.

“He is about the house,” Hunk repeats, nodding. “Right.”

“Seek him out, and-”

They’re interrupted by a crash from across the room. Lance jumps out of his seat and spins towards the direction of the sound, already running over. Hunk, Viola, and Keith follow close behind.

“What happened?” Allura is asking when they arrive backstage. Two of the set designers are gathered around a large wooden castle that’s been cracked in half, the structure that had held it up from the inside laying on the floor.

“It just fell out of nowhere,” one of the students explains, examining the splintered wood closely. “I don’t think the wood structure is going to work.”

“Can you salvage any of it?” Allura asks, bending down to look at the remnants of the castle. “The painted exterior, maybe?”

“Maybe… I don’t know,” the other set designer admits. “The bigger issue is the structure. I don’t know how we’ll be able to hold the castle up without wood, but we need it to be hollow on the inside so the actors can enter and exit through it.”

“What about using paper mache and a wire base?” Keith suggests, stepping forward. The set design team turns to him skeptically.

“You want us to make a castle out of chicken wire and newspaper?” one of them asks, frowning.

“Yeah, I do. I did a paper mache lion in art class and I used wire to help hold it up and keep it from falling in on itself,” Keith explains. “It worked well.”

“I did the same for my project,” Lotor adds, stepping forward. “Keith’s right, it worked well. Besides, we don’t have time to build an entirely new wooden castle, but a paper mache half-cylinder with a door cutout and a curtain would work just as well.”

“And it would be fast,” Keith continues. “And easy to paint. It’s the best option for a new castle.”

The lead set designer regards Keith cooly for a second, before shrugging. “He may be right,” she admits. “It’s worth a shot, at the very least.”

“Are you gonna show us how to do it then, Valentine?” a different set designer asks. Keith seems confused by the name, but after a second he nods.

“Sure,” he agrees slowly. “I can help out a little.”

Lance watches fondly as Keith joins the team of set designers, examining the old, broken castle and pointing out flaws and mistakes. At first when Keith had joined the Drama club and started helping out in Theater Arts (at Hunk and Lance’s prompting) he’d stayed close to his friends and avoided most of the other students. But now he’s helping run lines and build sets, suggesting ideas and even taking part in the play. He even seems excited for the production, when he isn’t busy freaking out about his part.

“You look happy,” Hunk says, frowning in confusion. “Even with all this stuff going wrong. What’s up with you?”

“Nothing,” Lance says, waving him off. “Just being a romantic.”


	2. ...some achieve greatness...

The re-cast is going smoothly. For the most part.

Lance is memorizing his lines quickly, thanks to Pilar and Lotor’s help. Lotor is obviously having no trouble with his lines, although he seems unsure as to how to portray Olivia. After months of playing energetic, lovestruck Orsino, it must be hard for him to get into Olivia’s colder, mournful role. And Keith is basically in the same boat as Lotor, minus the years of acting experience and natural talent. His lines are down, but his delivery leaves much to be desired.

Aside from that, the actors are doing well. They’re almost off book, and there are still two weeks until opening night. The construction of the new castle is taking half as long as the old one had, and the alterations to the costumes seem to be going well too. The tech crew hadn’t been able to recover their old files, but with Pidge and Hunk’s help, they’ve already started recording and downloading some new sound effects.

They’d run into a stroke of bad luck the last few days, what with April leaving, the sound files getting wiped, and the castle breaking. Luckily, Lance is an avid believer that good things come in threes (like his relationship with Keith, reuniting with Florona, and shutting down Rolo’s blog), and bad things follow the same rule (like that week he’d fought with Hunk, Pilar, and Keith-slash-Unknown). By that logic, they should hopefully be in for a trio of good events, unless the universe is feeling especially cruel. And if they’re especially lucky, the first good thing will be the opening night of the play.

It had been pretty easy to talk Shiro into letting Keith keep coming to Theater Arts during his Study Skills class, especially since he’s performing in the play now. Likewise, Pidge had temporarily said goodbye to Robotics club to help recreate the tracks the tech crew had lost during Drama club. They’re making really good progress, as far as Lance can tell, although he knows as much about sound samples as he does about Keith’s weird alternative bands or Lucas and Luis’s robot project.

He sighs, glancing at the clock at the front of the classroom. He’s in seventh period, English, waiting for the bell to ring so he can get to Theater Arts and practice. The play’s all that’s been on his mind lately, which is both a blessing and a curse considering everything that’s happened in the last few months of his life. On the plus side, he likes the bustle and excitement and non-stop movement that comes with working on a play, but on the other hand, it’s taking up almost all of his spare time. He finds himself getting his homework done during lunch and in between classes, and he’s barely spent time with his friends aside from practicing lines together.

Only ten minutes left, and Allura isn’t paying attention to him anyway. He pulls out his phone and opens the messenger, clicking on the group chat and typing out a message. His finger hovers over the  _ send _ button for a second before he deletes the whole thing. Pidge will get mad at him if he gets her in trouble for having her phone on in class again, and Hunk doesn’t even keep his in his pocket, anyway.

He sighs again, letting his mind drift back to his lack of free time. He loves working on the play, but he’ll be glad once it’s over and he can go back to his admittedly lazy, relaxed, everyday life. He’ll probably ask Keith on another date when the play’s over--they haven’t hung out one-on-one since they were re-cast two weeks ago, and he kind of really misses it. Not that practicing lines and scenes with his boyfriend isn’t great, but it’s not the same, either.

Allura is wrapping the class up when he looks around again. People are shoving books and papers into their bags, pulling on their jackets and standing from their desks, even though they still have a couple of minutes left. Lance stretches, pushes his phone into his pocket, slides his English notebook into his backpack, and only feels a little bad about packing up early. Most of the teachers absolutely hate it when their students get ready to leave before class is even finished. At least Allura doesn’t seem to mind too much.

“Don’t be late to eighth period!” she calls after them. “And remember to get your tickets for Twelfth Night!”

Most of the students ignore her, but a few of them nod or make sounds of acknowledgement. Lance rolls his eyes at his classmates and turns to the door, starting to head towards the auditorium when a hand touches his elbow gently.

“Huh?”

He turns around to find Keith standing next to him, backpack slung over his shoulder casually. His bangs are pushed back and there are a few smudges of paint on his forehead and chin. It’s really cute.

“Hey,” Keith says, waving with the hand not holding onto his backpack strap. “Want to walk together?”

“Sure,” Lance says with a smile. “Did you get out early?”

“A little bit. The clock in the art room is broken.”

“Ah.”

“And I brought Lotor,” Keith adds, scratching his neck sheepishly. “I thought we could all walk together, if that’s okay with you.”

“Oh,” Lance says, surprised. “Yeah, sure. That sounds good.”

“He’s waiting outside,” Keith explains as they walk towards the door. “He wasn’t sure if you’d want to walk with him.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Keith shrugs. “After all the stuff with Quentin and Rolo, I think he was trying to give us some space. But with the play going on, it might be a good opportunity to get over that whole scenario, don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” Lance agrees, still a little confused. Lotor hadn’t shown any interest in being his friend earlier in the year. He’d figured they’d never get past the friendly acquaintances stage, but now the three of them are apparently close enough to walk to class together. Sure, he’d already known that Lotor and Keith were pretty good friends, but he’d always thought that the Princes would continue to keep their distance from the other students until they graduated. (Except for Ezor, who seems to thrive off social interaction.)

“Hey,” Lotor says when they reach the door, looking at Keith questioningly, like he’s making sure it’s okay for him to be there. Keith nods encouragingly, and the three of them start walking towards the auditorium.

“Excited for practice?” Lance asks hesitantly, looking back and forth between the others. Keith shrugs, turning to Lotor and raising an eyebrow.

“I am,” Lotor says. “Playing Olivia is much harder than Orsino was for me, but it’s a nice change of pace.”

“Were you the male lead in the play last year?” Keith asks curiously.

“I was,” Lotor confirms. “We did  _ Alice in Wonderland _ , and I was the Mad Hatter.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. It was awesome,” Lance adds. “I was a mouse.”

“Aw. Wish I’d been there to see it.”

“I’m really glad you weren’t. I had to wear mouse ears and a tail and everything.”

“It’s up on the school’s website,” Lotor says helpfully. “They record the plays every year so other people can watch them.”

“Wait, Twelfth Night is going to be  _ recorded _ ?!” Keith’s eyes are wide, shocked.

“Oops,” Lance says, chuckling sheepishly. “I guess everyone forgot to tell you.”

“God, I’m going to die,” Keith groans, shoulders slumping. He looks like he’s going to be sick. “Are we sure it’s not too late to quit?”

“It’s definitely too late to quit,” Lotor says sympathetically. “We’ve only got two weeks left. But it will all work out in the end.”

“Yeah, stop worrying so much,” Lance agrees. “You’re going to be great. I’ll make sure of it.”

“You really think you can turn me into a decent actor in less than fourteen days?” Keith says dubiously, eyebrow raised.

“I guarantee it,” Lance replies, pushing open the doors of the auditorium. “Now, let’s get to practice.”

***

“So please, my lord, I might not be admitted,” Keith says, sounding only a little less stiff and unsure than he had the time before. They’ve been at it for an hour, and even Lance is beginning to feel hopeless at this point. Maybe Keith is right and they actually  _ can’t _ make an actor of him with such a short amount of time left.

“I might not be admitted. But from her handmaid do return-”

“Stop, stop,” Hunk groans, his head falling into his hands. “You sound like you’re  _ reciting _ the lines, not  _ saying _ them.”

“What does that  _ mean _ ?” Keith exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air. “Aren’t those the same thing?”

“What he means,” Lance interjects, “is that you sound like you’re reading lines off a script. You’re supposed to be acting. Try putting yourself in Valentine’s shoes.”

“Valentine’s whole life is meaningless,” Keith grumbles. “He’s a meaningless character. This whole thing is dumb. I’ll just tell Allura I quit.”

Lance sighs, wracking his brain for a solution. Clearly Keith isn’t a natural born actor, but Lance is absolutely  _ positive _ that that’s not the only problem. No one can have delivery this terrible without any other factors playing in. Maybe he still doesn’t understand the plot, or maybe he needs another break, or maybe he’s purposefully being terrible in order to get out of the whole ordeal.

“Wait, Keith, what do you mean he’s meaningless?” Hunk asks, looking up. “He helps the characters interact with each other, you know? Of course he’s not meaningless.”

“All his lines could be redistributed to the other characters and nothing would change,” Keith argues. “And anyway, doesn’t Duke Orsino have enough servants without Valentine?”

An idea sparks in Lance’s mind, and he sits up sharply. “Hunk, would you give us a minute?” he asks. “I want to try something.”

“Sure,” Hunk says, standing and pulling his chair out of the chair circle to make an exit. “I’ll go check in with the tech crew.”

Once he’s gone, Lance turns back to Keith. “Valentine is kind of a hard character to relate to,” he says with a grimace. “I had the same problem when I was memorizing his lines.”

“Well, you’re a good actor, so of course you did fine,” Keith replies, frowning. “I don’t know the first thing about acting.”

“But you know the story,” Lance says, flipping through his script and handing it to Keith. “Let’s do this scene.”

Keith looks down and frowns deeper. “I’m not in this part,” he points out.

“Valentine isn’t,” Lance agrees, “but Viola is. Just read those lines for a little, okay?”

“Why?”

“Just trust me.”

Keith sighs for the millionth time that day, but obediently holds the script up. “Your line,” he says reluctantly.

“Come hither, boy,” Lance recites, slipping into his high-and-mighty Duke Orsino voice. “If ever thou shalt love, in the sweet pangs of it remember me. For such as I am all true lovers are, unstaid and skittish in all motions else, save in the constant image of the creature that is beloved. How dost thou like this tune?”

“It gives a very echo to the seat where love is throned,” Keith replies, frowning in confusion. His voice is stiff and awkward, and he’s barely making eye contact, choosing instead to stare at the script as if it’s personally offended him.

“Thou dost speak masterly… My life upon’t, young though thou art, thine eye hath stay’d upon some favour that it loves, hath it not, boy?”

“A little, by your favour.”

“What kind of woman is’t?”

Keith stares at him for a second before turning back to the script and reading in the same confused voice, “Of your complexion…”

“She is not worth thee, then. What years i’ faith?” Lance says, trying to make his voice smooth and confident like Lotor’s had been when he was playing Orsino.

“About your years, my lord,” Keith replies. His expression is softening as the scene progresses. He glances up at Lance unsurely.

“Too old by heaven,” Lance continues with a smile that definitely breaks character. “Let still the woman take an elder than herself. So wears she to him, so sways she level in her husband’s heart. For, boy, however we do praise ourselves, our fancies are more giddy and unfirm, more longing, wavering, sooner lost and worn than women’s are.”

Keith frowns back at him. “I think it well, my lord.”

“Then let thy love be younger than thyself, or thy affection cannot hold the bent. For women are as roses, whose fair flower being once display’d, doth fall that very hour.”

“Lance, what are we doing?” Keith says, snapping the script closed. “How is reading someone else’s lines gonna help me with mine?”

“Because you’re right,” Lance replies. “Valentine is a hard role to get into. You can’t relate to him--there’s nothing to relate to.”

“Yeah, and?”

“ _ And _ , Viola’s a much better character for you to relate to,” Lance explains. Keith frowns even deeper.

“Because she’s a coward?” he asks, eyebrow raised challengingly. He looks like an offended cat--something Lance thinks quite often, but would never say out loud.

“Hardly,” he says, pushing the notion aside. “It’s like Pidge said, she’s just like you. You both know what it’s like to like an oblivious idiot who thinks he’s in love with someone else, and you both know how hard it is to keep up a double persona. Especially around that person.”

“Lance…” Keith says quietly, shaking his head. “I don’t know about this.”

“Try Valentine’s lines again,” Lance prompts, tapping his scripts against Keith’s. “Please? Just try it.”

“Fine,” Keith sighs, flipping back to scene I.

“How now? What news from her?” Lance recites, then gestures to Keith.

“So please, my lord, I might not be admitted,” Keith says hesitantly, then continues with a stronger voice, “but from her handmaid do return this answer. The element itself, till seven years’ heat, shall not behold her face at ample view. But, like a cloistress she will veiled walk and water once a day her chamber round with eye-offending brine. All this to season a brother’s dead love, which she would keep fresh and lasting in her sad remembrance.”

He looks up at Lance uncertainty, face doubtful. “How was that?” he asks, sounding almost as if he doesn’t want to know the answer.

“Keith…” Lance breaks out into a grin. “That was great!”

“Really?”

“Yes! You really sounded like you just got rejected for me!”

“Is  _ that _ what the scene’s about?” Keith asks, sounding surprised. “I really don’t get this play. But thanks, you know. For helping me out.”

“Of course,” Lance says, bumping Keith’s foot with his. “I’m glad that worked.”

“Keith! Lance! We need you for costume fittings,” the head of the costume committee yells. Keith sighs, standing and offering Lance his hand.

“This is gonna suck,” he says, but he sounds relieved to get out of line practice nonetheless.

“At least you’ve got a simple costume,” Lance replies, eyeing the fancy cape and fluffy collar the costume committee has made for him. “I’m already sweaty and uncomfortable, and I haven’t even put mine on yet.”

“I bet you’ll look great,” Keith offers, patting him on the arm. “Come on, let’s go get fitted.”

***

“I’m home!” Lance calls, closing the door behind him.

“Congratulations,” Violeta replies sarcastically from her place on the couch.

“Where’s Allie?”

“With Pilar.”

Pilar’s home already? That’s strange. It’s a Thursday, which means she’s usually got a study group or book club or something. (It’s relatively new, and Lance hadn’t exactly been paying attention when she’d told him.) Still, he normally makes it home a good five or ten minutes before her.

“Lance? Come here, I’ve got a surprise for you,” Pilar calls from the kitchen. Lance frowns curiously, dropping his backpack by the door and kicking off his shoes.

“What are you doing home so early?” he asks, rounding the corner and stopping short. Pilar is sitting at the kitchen table across from a familiar head of soft, pink hair.

“Lance!” Florona exclaims, jumping out of her chair to hug him.

“Flora! What are you doing here?”

“I invited her,” Pilar says, looking smug. “I know you’re going to see her in a few days for the play, but I figured it would be a nice surprise for you two to see each other early.”

“This is awesome! Thanks so much, Pilar.” Lance beams at his sister over Florona’s shoulder. “Did you tell her about the recast?”

“Uh, no.” Pilar frowns, shaking her head. “Didn’t you?”

“Recast? What do you mean?” Florona pulls away from him, glancing between the two of them in confusion. “Did you get a different part?”

“I’m Orsino now,” Lance says proudly.

“What?! That’s amazing, Lance!” Florona exclaims. “I’m so happy for you! And I can’t believe you didn’t tell me sooner!”

“I guess it slipped my mind.”

“Tell her who’s playing Olivia,” Pilar prompts, grinning.

“Lotor,” Lance whispers conspiratorially.

“No way,” Florona gasps, disbelieving.

“Yeah, I’m serious! He’s really good, too,” Lance replies. “And Keith got forced into being Valentine. He hates it, but he’s getting a lot better.”

“Your boyfriend Keith? He doesn’t seem like the actor type,” Florona says good-naturedly.

“Oh, he’s really not,” Lance agrees. “He’s having a lot of trouble, and it’s only a three line part. But we didn’t really have a better choice.”

“And you said he’s doing a lot better, right?” Pilar prompts.

“Yeah, actually. We’ve made some good progress with the new parts, but there’s still a lot of stuff to do before we’re ready for opening night.”

“I bet you’ll do great,” Florona says with a proud smile. “I’m excited to see you all in the play.”

“It’ll be your first time coming back to the Garrison, right?” Pilar asks. Lance pauses, chewing on his lip. He hadn’t thought about that before.

“Yeah,” Florona says, quieter, then turns to address Lance. “But don’t worry about it, okay? It’ll be a good opportunity to see everyone and look around.”

“Are you sure? You could always watch the recorded version if you don’t want to come back,” Lance offers. “You don’t have to come just for me and our friends. I get it if you don’t want to.”

“ _ Lance _ ,” Florona interrupts, setting a hand on his shoulder. “I want to be there, I promise. I’m so…”

“Excited?” Pilar suggests with a smile.

“Yeah,” Florona agrees, nodding vigorously. “Excited for everything.”

The two of them take a seat at the table, Florona across from Pilar and Lance between the two of them. “So,” he says, “you skipped your book club?”

“Book club? I had a study group,” Pilar replies. “And yeah, I skipped it. Even cut out of school early to pick Flora up.”

“Thanks again for the ride,” Florona says. “I’m glad I got to come. Now I get to hear all about this crazy recast.”

“It’s  _ so  _ stressful. I’m still terrified that I’m gonna forget my monologues onstage or something,” Lance admits. “And it all happened so suddenly! April had to leave the school and she was our Olivia, so Lotor volunteered to play her instead since he’s like, the second best fit we’ve got. And then he volunteered me to be Orsino, ‘cause he thinks I can relate to him or something.”

“Lotor volunteered you?” Florona asks, confused. “I thought you were done with him.”

“He is,” Pilar confirms. “They’re just friends, right?”

“I think so? It’s hard to explain. Keith is Acxa’s step-brother, so he’s kind of in with the Princes, and Lotor took a weird interest in him right around the time we first met, ‘cause he doesn’t know how to make friends, but now it’s all working out pretty well. He even walked with us to class a couple of days ago.”

“That’s a big deal, isn’t it?”

“I don’t get the hype,” Pilar says with a shrug. “They’re just students like the rest of us.”

“Oh, they’re  _ nothing _ like the rest of us,” Lance disagrees. “But they do kind of get less intimidating once you get to know them. Well, except for Acxa and Zethrid.”

“Acxa…” Florona thinks for a second. “She’s the pretty one, right? The one with the nice eyes?”

“Huh.” Pilar chuckles. “I guess she is kind of your type, isn’t she?”

“What? She is? I didn’t know you were into girls like Acxa,” Lance says, looking between his sister and his friend.

“Oh, she’s  _ definitely _ into girls like Acxa,” Pilar teases.

“Shut up! I just said she was pretty, that’s all.” Florona pouts, but she’s blushing a shade that almost matches her hair.

“Maybe I should introduce you two,” Lance jokes. “I bet I could set you guys up.”

“Lance!” Florona protests. “Come on!”

“Oh, let him have his fun,” Pilar says, waving him off. “He’s got a lot of teasing to make up for.”

Lance grins, and despite her protests, Florona can’t help but grin back. And then they’re all laughing, smiling at each other until their cheeks hurt. Lance feels himself relaxing, the stress of the play melting away and being replaced with genuine excitement. He catches Pilar’s eye, sending her a silent thank-you for everything she’s done for him over the past couple of weeks, from running lines with him to bringing one of his best friends over for a surprise visit. She seems to get the message.

“Come on,” Pilar says, standing and gesturing for Lance and Florona to follow her. “I’ll make root beer floats and we can put in a movie.”

“Sounds good to me,” Lance says, offering Florona his hand. “I’ll even let you pick the movie.”

“How generous of you.” Florona rolls her eyes and pushes herself up on her own. “Hey, you should tell me more about school while we’re waiting. How are Hunk and Pidge? Doing okay?”

“Pidge is totally in love with this one girl in her class, and Hunk is stressing himself out over finals and the play,” Lance replies as they make their way to the couch. “Nothing’s really out of the ordinary there.”

“And Keith? How are things with him?”

Lance blushes. “He’s alright,” he says, feigning nonchalance. Florona rolls her eyes disbelievingly, and his act breaks. “Okay, he’s totally awesome. He puts frosting on everything Hunk bakes, and he’s trying to talk Matt into building a hoverboard.”

“I find it hard to believe that Matt needs to be  _ talked into _ doing something like that,” Florona says with a scoff. “It sounds more like something he’d need to be talked  _ out _ of.”

“He’s a busy guy,” Lance explains. “He just finished making this really cool star projector, and now he’s entering it into some young inventors contest or something.”

“Really? I can’t believe he’s grown up so much,” Florona says, looking a little forlorn. Lance pats her on the back comfortingly.

“He’s still a total goofball most of the time,” he assures her. “He’s just getting ready for the future. I mean, we’ve all gotta figure out what we’re gonna do for the future, right? What we want?”

“Honestly, Lance,” Florona says, wrapping her arm around him in a sisterly side-hug, “I can’t think of anything else I’d want.”

“Really? Not even Acxa?”

“Lance!”

***

“Done!” Pidge exclaims, looking up from her computer. “We’ve got all the sound files downloaded again!”

“Wonderful!” Allura says, matching her enthusiasm exactly. She’s been darting between the different crews and hovering over them anxiously since the start of class, and it’s almost the end of Drama club now. “Thank you so much, Pidge. I really don’t know what we would have done without you.”

“It was nothing,” Pidge says, but she’s grinning from ear to ear. Lance is happy to see her getting into the world of theater, even though she’s going back to robotics club soon. It’s nice to have all of his friends working on one big project together. They haven’t done something like this in such a long time, which makes it seem even nicer.

He glances towards the door and sees a familiar face peeking inside curiously, staring in their direction. He waves, and Alana waves back before gesturing at Pidge questioningly.

“Hey, I think someone’s here for you,” he says, tapping his friend on the shoulder. Pidge looks up at him, then towards the door, blushing and grinning even bigger.

“You really think she’s here for me?” she asks quietly, still staring at Alana. Lance nods, but there’s no need. Alana’s already beckoning Pidge towards the door, smiling right back.

“Go ahead,” Lance says, patting her on the back. “I’ll make sure the tech crew finishes up for you.”

“Thanks, Lance,” Pidge says, picking up her bag and practically skipping towards the door without so much as a backwards glance. She meets Alana halfway to the door, and the two of them turn and head out into the hall together.

Hunk strides up next to him, wiping a fake tear from his eye. “They grow up so fast,” he says, sniffing.

“When did you get so dramatic?” Lance teases softly. “Come on, we’ve got work to do.”

He splits apart from Hunk to check out the set design crew. Keith is talking with the lead set designer and fiddling with some chicken wire that’s poking out from the bottom of the new castle, smudges of green and gray paint visible on his face and hands. The paint has basically become a permanent part of him, what with the new castle and his Studio Art class. They’ll definitely need to do something about it before opening night, but for now it’s just another excuse for Lance to stare at him.

“Hey,” Keith says when he catches sight of Lance. “What’s up?”

“Taking a little break from rehearsal,” Lance explains. “What are you guys doing?”

“Just putting some last minute touches on,” the set designer replies. “I didn’t think the wire would actually work. This castle might even look better than the old one.”

“It looks great,” Lance agrees. And it really does. The castle looks sturdy and light enough to move easily at the same time, and the painted-on stones are impressively detailed, with highlights and shading and everything. There are even a few vines trailing up the tower and flowers sprouting at the bottom. “Do you like helping out with the set?”

“Yeah, it’s actually really fun,” Keith says, smiling. “Maybe I can do it again next year.”

Lance grins back. Keith’s talking like he’s planning on joining the Drama club again next year, which is a good sign as far as he’s concerned. Aside from having to play Valentine, Keith seems to enjoy most of the work he’s done in Drama club, which makes Lance happy.

“Hey, it’s almost time to go,” he says, glancing at the clock at the back of the auditorium. “You want to come over today? We don’t even have to practice lines or anything. We can just hang out, watch some YouTube or something.”

“Are you sure?” Keith asks, raising an eyebrow. “Opening night is only a week away. Don’t you want to get some more practice in?”

“That’s what rehearsal’s for, genius,” Lance says, teasing. “Besides, we haven’t done any non-play related stuff in too long.”

“Well…” Keith pauses for a second, debating. “I guess if you’re really okay with it, it might be kinda nice to take a break.”

“Sweet! Just let me text Pilar, make sure she doesn’t have anything else planned.” Lance pulls out his phone and opens his texts, typing a quick message to his sister.

“I’ll message Acxa,” Keith replies, doing the same. “She’ll probably want to know where I am.”

Pilar responds with approval right as Allura calls them together to wrap up the club. Lance shoves his phone back into his pocket, going to stand by Hunk with Keith on his other side in the circle of students.

“We’ve got a week left until opening night,” Allura is saying. “The castle has been reconstructed, the music and sound effects are restored, and all of the costumes have been altered to fit the new actors better. That means it’s up to us to have our lines down, know our cues, and make this play the biggest success the school has ever seen!”

“No pressure,” Hunk whispers nervously.

“I know the last month has been… hectic, to say the least,” Allura continues with the strong, confident voice of a leader. “But believe me when I say that we  _ can _ pull this off! I believe in each and every one of you, and I know you’ll do wonderful if you believe in yourselves, as well.”

There’s a chorus of cheers from the actors and crew, followed by enthusiastic high-fives and a feeling of confidence that only Allura could bring. Lance grins at Hunk and Keith, and then at Lotor across the circle.

And with that, Drama club is over for the day.


	3. ...and some have greatness thrust upon them.

Opening night is going smoothly.

Okay, so they’re only five minutes into Theater Arts, but still. Nothing bad has happened yet, which Lance is hoping with all his might is a sign that the performance will work out much the same way. He’d written down all of his lines again and again over the past few weeks until he was sure he was mumbling them in his sleep, and he’d even encouraged Keith to do the same.

Hunk passes by him with a few of the stagehands, carrying the massive paper mache tower between them. They ease it onto the raised stage before hauling themselves up as well and dragging it towards the center.

Lotor and Keith pass by, running lines as quickly as they possibly can while still articulating. Well, Lotor is articulating. Keith sounds like a very frantic highway.

“Hey!” Pidge yells, waving to get his attention from one of the backstage wings. She’d volunteered to help out with the tech crew during the performance, and now she’s in charge of the spotlight colors and brightnesses. “Lance! Come here!”

Lance takes one last look around the busy auditorium before jogging over to Pidge. She’s got two computers open in front of her and a set of headphones over her ears, probably doing some last-minute sound checks or something.

“What did you need?” Lance asks, peeking over at her screen. Sure enough, she’s clicking through various sound files and marking them off on a checklist.

“We’ve got to check in with all the main actors about their mics,” Pidge explains, the light from the computer reflecting off her glasses and hiding her eyes. “Have you tested yours out yet?”

“Not yet,” Lance replies, glancing over at the pile of headset-style microphones on the other side of the table.

“Here, I’ll show you how to work yours.” Pidge removes her headphones and pulls one of the tangled masses of wire out from the stack, then passes it to him. “It goes over your ears and around your head, like reverse sunglasses.”

Lance hooks one side of the headpiece over his left ear, running the wire along the back of his head and hooking the attached mic around his other ear. Pidge fumbles with the wire connecting the microphone to the headset until it sits an inch or so away from his mouth and a little to the right.

“You turn it on like this,” she says, flipping a tiny switch on a little box near his ear. “And then it connects to the speakers. Cool, right?”

“Is this really necessary?” Lance asks, reaching up to turn the switch off. “We didn’t have to use mics last year.”

“Last year we didn’t have Keith,” Pidge replies, glancing in the direction of the set designers, who are gathered around the castle. “And besides, Allura wants us to get a ‘professional-feeling experience’, whatever that means.”

“But it defeats the point of projecting,” Lance says with a pout. Pidge pats him on the back quickly.

“I’m sure you’ll have plenty of other opportunities to project,” she says, turning back to her computer. “How does it feel?”

“A little itchy, I guess.” Lance reaches up to move the wire and scratch at his ear.

“You’ll get used to it. Don’t forget to turn it off when your scenes end, or the whole audience will be able to hear you making out with Keith.”

“I won’t,” Lance promises. “And I won’t make out with Keith backstage. It’d ruin my makeup.”

Pidge rolls her eyes exasperatedly. “Will you go get me Hunk already? I have to run him through all this mic stuff.”

“Fine,” Lance sighs, unhooking the mic from his head and setting it back onto the pile. Pidge has already started typing again, so he wanders off in search of his other friends.

Hunk is drinking from a big water bottle with a worn  _ Camp Olkarion  _ logo on it. He sets the bottle down and grins when he sees Lance.

“What’s up, man?” he asks, wiping his forehead with a towel. He sounds tired--probably from helping the set crew move the props around, Lance figures. Hunk’s always been more than eager to help out with the heavy lifting, both literally and figuratively.

“Pidge wants to show you the mics,” Lance explains, gesturing in the direction of the tech booth. “She sent me to come get you.”

“But I already know how a mic works,” Hunk protests.

“Humor her.”

“Oh, alright.” Hunk sighs, setting the towel down next to his water. “You know, this whole day barely feels real. Like, I keep forgetting that it’s  _ actually _ opening night.”

“Same here,” Lance agrees. He can hardly believe that their first recital is in only a few hours. His stomach turns in nervous anticipation at the thought.

“I don’t know if I’m ready,” Hunk continues, echoing his thoughts. “I mean, after all this preparation and rehearsing and stuff, we kinda have to be, right?”

Lance nods quietly. He’s excited for everything to come together, but he’s also a little sad that it’ll be over soon.

Hunk pats him on the shoulder, then heads towards Pidge to talk about mics. Lance watches him go for a second, then turns to find something else to do.

He runs into Allura backstage as she’s talking to the costume designers. Her hair is tied back in a big, fluffy ponytail, and she’s holding a few hangers with protective bags draped over them.

“This one’s the old one?” she asks, holding one of the hangers higher.

“It should be,” the designer replies, reaching out and moving the bag aside. “No, wait… I think that’s Curio’s.”

“Oh goodness,” Allura sighs, shaking her head and setting Hunk’s costume down. “Where did it go?”

“Is there any way I can help?” Lance asks, stepping forward. “I don’t have much to do.”

“Are you sure?” Allura turns to him, arms weighed down with costumes. “I don’t want to keep you from anything.”

“Nah, it’s fine. What are we looking for?”

“Um…” The costume designer looks down at his clipboard, frowning. “We can’t find Olivia’s new skirt. The old one doesn’t go down far enough on Lotor, so we had to make a new one, but…”

“Here,” Allura says, handing a few hangers to Lance. “Sort through these, would you? I need to go check in with a few people. Thanks so much!”

Lance’s arms bend with the weight of the costumes, the hangers resting uncomfortably on his forearms. He gently lays them across the back of one of the chairs from the auditorium that someone had dragged backstage. “What’s the skirt look like?” he asks, opening the front flap on the top costume.

“It’s just like the old one, but longer. Black and purple, with a lot of lace and bows. It might be a little dusty… I was going to see if it got cleaned, but it disappeared.”

The first costume is Keith’s, so Lance sets it aside and moves onto the next one. He moves the next bag aside to reveal a dark brown dress with stains and rips on it.

“Whose is this?” he asks, holding the bag open further so the costume designer can see.

“Oh, it’s Viola’s. Just for the shipwreck scene, though.”

“Huh.” Lance moves Viola’s dress to the seat of the chair along with Keith’s costume, then checks the next bag. A black skirt with a white apron that he recognizes as Maria’s peeks out. Nope.

“Are you sure the skirt’s in here?” he asks, frowning. The only costume bag he hasn’t checked is the one that was already determined as Hunk’s.

“Well,” the designer muses, pausing for a second to think. “I had Lotor try it on yesterday during club, and then I’m pretty sure I put it back on the rack. But then I think someone else took it out to clean it, and I haven’t seen it since.”

“Maybe Lotor knows where it is,” Lance suggests, setting Hunk’s costume back on the chair with the others. “Should I go ask him?”

“Would you? I’ve got a few accessories to sort out before opening night.”

Lance nods, turning towards the stage. Lotor is striding around the set, practicing his blocking and muttering lines quietly. He stops when he sees Lance, an expectant expression on his face.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Lance says, remembering how serious Lotor is about acting. “I was just wondering if you know where the new skirt for Olivia is?”

“It’s not a problem,” Lotor replies, brushing his long hair back. “I’m not completely sure, but I vaguely remember it being set near the props from last year’s play.”

“The ones that went into storage?” Lance asks, frowning. “Oh no, do you think it got put away on accident?”

“If it’s not with the other costumes, then most likely,” Lotor replies gravely, shaking his head. “I suppose the pre-show rush has us all a bit frazzled. I can come with you to look, if you’d like.”

Lance pauses for a second, debating. If Lotor’s busy, he really doesn’t want to bother him, but… He also doesn’t know what Olivia’s skirt looks like, and he hates going into the storage closet alone. (One time he’d gotten locked in there for half an hour, and it still kind of scares him to go in without friends.)

“Sure,” he says finally, nodding. “I mean, if you’re not busy.”

“I’m really not.” Lotor looks around the empty set quickly. “Shall we get going? I wouldn’t want to cause unnecessary worry.”

Nodding, Lance allows Lotor to lead them towards the storage closet backstage. The two of them dodge actors and crew members rushing around in preparation, and Lance almost trips over a fake bush, but soon enough they get to the closet.

Lotor holds the door open for Lance graciously. “Don’t let it close,” Lance says nervously.

The storage closet is a mess. Costumes, props, pieces of set, and scripts from past plays are littered around everywhere, shoved in clear plastic tubs and hung up haphazardly on coat racks. Lance glances around, looking for the heavy, cream-colored costume bags that they’re using this year. Hesitantly, he takes a few steps further into the closet.

“Do you see anything?” Lotor asks, poking around. “Any Alice in Wonderland props? The skirt could be near those.”

“I don’t think so?” The closet is dark and dusty and very tall, and Lance honestly can’t tell Alice in Wonderland from the Wizard of Oz. He takes another step and almost trips on a long, white, potato-sack style costume with black details painted on it. A playing card!

“I think it’s over here!” he exclaims, waving Lotor over. The playing card is stored along with the Queen of Hearts costume, and above that, a couple of bins are stacked on top of each other.

Lotor makes his way through the closet, staring up at the stack of Alice boxes. “This brings back memories,” he says, sounding nostalgic. “Last year’s play was such a good one.”

“Yeah, seriously,” Lance agrees. He’d had a tiny role and mostly just helped the other actors with their lines, but it was still really cool to see everything come together in the end.

“Anyway, I think I see the skirt up there,” Lotor continues. “Check if you can find something to stand on.”

Lance glances around again, then pulls a crate from beneath a fluffy white tutu. “Here,” he says, pushing it up beneath the stack of bins. Carefully, Lotor climbs onto the crate and reaches towards the top of the stack.

“Look out for spiders,” Lance warns, half-joking. Lotor’s shoulders stiffen the tiniest bit.

“I think this is it,” he says hurriedly, pulling a large gray costume bag from the top bin and stepping down from the crate. Lance moves the flap of the costume bag aside to reveal a heavy black skirt.

“Yeah! We found it!” he exclaims, grinning. Lotor smiles back, and for a second it feels like all the drama between them from earlier in the year never even happened. It feels, surprisingly enough, like they’re actually friends.

“You know,” Lance says without thinking, “I’m kinda gonna miss working with you.”

Lotor looks surprised, then kind of pleased. “I’m kind of going to miss working with you, too,” he replies. “Strange, isn’t it?”

* * *

“Lance!” Pilar calls, waving at him from the entrance of the auditorium. Lance waves back from his place hidden behind the curtain.

“Is that Florona Waverly?” Allura asks, looking out at Lance’s friends. “Goodness, I haven’t seen her in ages! How is she?”

“She’s doing a lot better,” Lance says, grinning. “You should go say hi! I’m sure she’s missed you.”

Allura nods, pulling the curtain closed and turning to the stairs. “I’ll be back,” she calls as she heads towards the back of the auditorium.

Keith wanders up next to him, hair pulled back in a tiny ponytail. “Isn’t it kind of early for people to be here?” he asks, glancing nervously at the curtain.

“Yeah, but Pilar and Flora wanted to come early to look around,” Lance explains. “You know, since it’s Flora’s first time back and all.”

“Acxa and Zethrid are coming early, too,” Keith says. “To support Lotor and everything. Although I think Zethrid just wants to take pictures of Lotor in all that gothic victorian stuff he has to wear.”

Lance hums in agreement, peeking outside again. Allura is talking animatedly with Florona and Pilar, but aside from a few other crew members, the auditorium is mostly empty.

“Are you nervous?” Keith asks, looking out at the rows of empty seats. “I heard the first performance sold out.”

“I mean, I always get a little nervous before we start performing,” Lance admits, “but after that it’s all fine. After a while, you kinda get used to being on stage.”

“But you have a bigger role this year,” Keith points out. “Doesn’t that change stuff?”

“I don’t really know yet. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

“Lance! Keith!” Pidge calls from the tech booth. “Get your mics! We’re testing them all before the show starts!”

“They all work fine, Pidge,” Keith groans, crossing his arms. “Do we really need to try them out again?”

“Uh, yeah! What if someone left one on overnight and the batteries died?” Pidge challenges, setting her hands on her hips. “It’ll only take two minutes, and then you’re free to go.”

Lance sighs, grabbing a mic and looping it over his ear. He flicks the little switch on the box and raises an eyebrow at Pidge.

“Test it out,” she commands.

Rolling his eyes, Lance runs through the standard “Testing, testing, one, two,” speech and turns expectantly to Keith, who does the same.

“Something’s wrong,” Pidge says, frowning. “Did anyone turn the speakers on?”

Keith raises an eyebrow at Lance, who shrugs. He really doesn’t know what goes on in the tech crew.

When no one responds, she sighs and stands up. “I guess it’s up to me, then. Keep those mics on, I’ll be right back.”

Pidge runs off to mess with the speakers, while Lance and Keith follow to wait for her to finish. Keith reaches up to switch off his mic with a sigh.

“I didn’t realize the play was gonna be this big,” he says, frowning. “We have to use mics and everything.  _ And _ it’s going to be recorded. I mean, when did the Garrison become the school from High School Musical?”

“You and your High School Musical obsession,” Lance teases with a snort. “Come on, it won’t be  _ that _ bad. Acxa will be out there to support you, won’t she?”

“I guess,” Keith agrees. “Maybe it’s easier for you since you’re used to it. And your whole family’s out there, too.”

“Maybe so. They’ve always been really supportive with this kind of stuff. Especially Pilar and Flora.”

“Are they into acting?” Keith asks. Lance shakes his head with a laugh.

“Flora has stage fright, and Pilar can’t act,” he explains. “I tried to get them to sign up for the play in middle school, but they talked their way out of it.”

Pidge crosses the stage to the other speaker, holding up a “one second” sign. Keith waves at her as she goes.

“So, you said it was Florona’s first time back?” he asks quietly. “Is she gonna be okay?”

“She’ll be fine,” Lance assures him. “Especially if we introduce her to Acxa,” he jokes.

“What? Really?” Keith raises an eyebrow disbelievingly. “What do you mean?”

“When she came over last week, Pilar and I were talking about the Princes, and Flora called Acxa the pretty one. I never would have guessed, but I guess she’s into girls like your sister.”

Suddenly, Lance realizes that the entire room is very, very quiet. Keith is staring at him, eyes wide, shaking his head.

“What?” Lance asks, frowning. And then he hears it. The speakers, successfully turned on by Pidge, are echoing his every word.

Slowly, he turns to the audience. Florona and Pilar are staring at him with expressions that mirror Keith’s, and standing in the entrance to the auditorium only a few feet away from them are Acxa and Zethrid.

Lance’s gaze darts back to Florona, who now has her head dropped, staring at the ground. If he looks close enough, he can see that her shoulders are shaking.  _ Oh no _ , he thinks, hands coming up to cover his mouth.  _ Not again. _

“Well,” Pidge says awkwardly, standing and clearing her throat. “The speakers work.”

And Florona bursts out laughing.

Pilar turns to stare at her friend in shocked confusion, but Florona’s giggling too hard to wave her off.

“What the fuck,” Keith whispers, utterly confused. That, of all things, snaps Lance out of his horrified trance.

“I’m so sorry!” he exclaims, jumping down from the stage and rushing over to his friend.

“Lance!” Pidge yells. “Turn your mic off!”

Belatedly, he reaches up to turn off his mic, reaching Florona and Pilar at the same time. His sister looks somewhere between concern and amusement, watching Florona laugh like she never has before.

“Don’t- Don’t worry about it,” she gasps in between giggles, waving him off. “Oh my- After all this-”

Lance glances up the stairs where Acxa and Zethrid are slowly descending. Zethrid looks like she’s having a field day. Acxa mouths, “Is she okay?”

Lance looks back at Florona to check, then flashes a thumbs-up.

“Flora, breathe,” Pilar commands, pushing Florona into a chair. “Seriously, are you okay?”

Florona takes a few large, deep breaths, interrupted by tiny fits of laughter, before finally managing to calm down. “I’m alright,” she says at last, shaking her head. “I think the nerves just got to me a little more than I was expecting.”

“Hey, think about it this way,” Pidge says, joining them in the audience. “Now that your embarrassing moment of the night has already happened, you can enjoy the play without having to worry about it, right?”

“Pidge, that doesn’t make any sense!” Lance argues. He still feels awful for revealing Florona’s kind-of secret in front of Acxa, and he’s starting to wonder when the other shoe will drop.

“She’s right,” Florona says, surprising him. “I was  _ so _ worried about this whole thing going badly, but now that it’s out of the way, I feel fine!”

“Like the recast, Lance,” Pilar adds, eyes widening. “You got your big roadblock out of the way, and now you don’t even have to worry about it anymore!”

“That isn’t how luck works!” Lance exclaims, but he has to admit, it does make him feel a little better. After all, they haven’t come across any terribly bad luck since the week of the recast, and with the way things are going, it doesn’t feel like they will. With less than an hour until opening night, it really does seem as if they’ll pull this off without a hitch.

“We don’t know that for sure,” Acxa says, striding up behind Florona. “It’s all superstition, anyway.”

Flora cranes her head upwards and grins sheepishly. “Hi,” she says.

“Hey.” Acxa looks down, the corner of her mouth lifting up. Lance’s eyebrows shoot up and he turns to Keith questioningly. Keith shrugs, just as stumped as he is.

Zethrid sighs, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms impatiently. “We’re supposed to be here for Lotor,” she mutters, but she seems amused.

“Lance!” Hunk calls, poking his head out from behind the curtain. “We’ve gotta get into costume!”

“Shit! Already?” Lance turns back to the stage, waving at his friends over his shoulder as he returns. “Hold on, I’m coming.”

Keith climbs to his feet when Lance reaches him, and the two head backstage together. Lance glances back at the audience, where Acxa is sitting next to Florona. The two of them are talking, and Florona’s blushing again.

“Looks like you accidentally set them up,” Keith says with a snort, nudging Lance teasingly. “Good job.”

“Oh, come on. They’re kinda cute together.”

“I don’t know if I’d call Acxa ‘cute’.” Keith wrinkles his nose. “But I guess.”

“Forty-five minutes till we open,” Hunk announces, ushering them towards the costume rack. “Lance, buddy, you’ve  _ got _ to remember to turn off your mic once you get backstage.”

“Okay, okay!” Lance grabs his costume off its hanger and turns towards the bathroom. “I’ll remember next time, I promise.”

“Good. Keith, hair and makeup needs you.”

“What? No,” Keith protests, crossing his arms.

“Sorry, dude. They’re very insistent.” Hunk pats him on the shoulder sympathetically before steering him towards the other end of the stage.

“Do I  _ need _ to? I’ve only got three lines!”

Lance grins, folding his costume over his arm. It’s heavy, but it looks almost authentic, and the details are seriously impressive. He has to hand it to the costume designers; they’ve really outdone themselves this year.

He quickens his pace, closing the bathroom door behind him. If he makes it back in time, he might get to see Keith fighting off the makeup artist, and that’s really not something he wants to miss.

* * *

“Ready?” Hunk whispers, raising an eyebrow and covering his mic with his hand. Lance nods, re-adjusting his position and checking once again that his mic is on. The curtain is about to rise, and then just like that, it’s his line.

Allura finishes her introduction and the audience applauds, whoops and cheers echoing around the auditorium. The curtain begins to rise, light spilling through the crack at the bottom and illuminating the stage inch by inch. The audience applauds again as he and Hunk come into view, and he waits for them to quiet down before he begins.

“If music be the fruit of love, play on,” he recites, the line practically performing itself thanks to all his practice. “Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, the appetite may sicken, and so die. That strain again! It had a dying fall. Oh, it came o’er my ear like the sweet sound that breathes upon a bank of violets, stealing and giving odour. Enough! No more. ‘Tis not so sweet now as it was before.”

He catches Keith’s eye from slightly offstage, glancing back to the audience as soon as he catches himself, but he can’t help the smile that spreads across his face as he continues his line. “Oh spirit of love! How quick and fresh art thou, that, notwithstanding thy capacity receiveth as the sea, nought enters there. Of what validity and pitch soe’er, but falls into abatement and low price. Even in a minute: so full of shapes is fancy that it alone is high fantastical."

Hunk steps forward, bowing slightly. “Will you go hunt, my lord?” he asks in a deep voice.

“Hunt what, Curio?”

“The hart.” The barest hint of a teasing smile appears on Hunk’s face, breaking character for a second.

“Why, so I do, the noblest that I have. O, when mine eyes did see Olivia first, methought she purged the air of pestilence! That instant was I turn’d into a hart, and my desires, like fell and cruel hounds, e’er since pursue me.”

Keith recognizes his cue, stepping onto the stage with only a hint of hesitance. Lance pretends to notice him, turning so that they’re facing each other.

“How now?” he asks grandly. “What news from her?”

Keith takes a deep breath, then dives into his line. “So please my lord, I might not be admitted,” he says, “but from her handmaid do return this answer. The element itself, till seven years’ heat, shall not behold her face at ample view. But, like a cloistress, she will veiled walk and water once a day her chamber round with eye-offending brine. All this to season a brother’s dead love, which she would keep fresh and lasting in her sad remembrance.”

His voice starts off quiet, but after he gets through the first sentence, he seems to gain more confidence. He’s not exactly acting--he still sounds like he’s repeating someone else’s words--but it’s clear that he’s been practicing on his own as well as with his friends. It’s actually decent, and it makes Lance happy to know that he’s at least trying to perform well. He fights a grin off his face, forcing himself to look serious. As happy as he is for Keith, he’s supposed to be acting lovesick for someone  _ else _ , so he turns back to the audience to deliver the final line.

“O, she that hath a heart of that fine frame to pay this debt of love but to a brother. How will she love, when the rich golden shaft hath killed the flock of all affections else that live in her. When liver, brain and heart, these sovereign thrones, are all supplied, and fill’d her sweet perfections with one self king! Away before me to sweet beds of flowers. Love-thoughts lie rich when canopied with bowers.”

The lights fade as the scene ends, and the audience applauds and cheers once again. Lance waits for a few seconds until turning and following Keith and Hunk backstage. All of a sudden he’s back in the twenty-first century, with crew members and actors running around and preparing for the next scene. Viola and the Captain take their place near the stairs, ready to dart on as soon as the lights signal them.

Lance reaches up and switches off his mic before he can do anything else, then sighs. The first scene had gone really well, aside from all that smiling he wasn’t supposed to do.  _ Oh well _ , he thinks.  _ Let the world know my boyfriend makes me happy. _

Hunk and Keith switch their mics off too, then turn to each other.

“Dude!” Hunk exclaims, “I knew you could do it!”

“It was only one line,” Keith says with a shrug. “I’ve still got two more, and they’re not even with Orsino.”

“But they’re  _ near _ me,” Lance points out. “You did great, Keith. You’ll do great on your next lines, too. And the big one’s out of the way already, right?”

“I guess.” Keith straightens up, attempting to change his attitude. “It wasn’t so bad. And you two were awesome out there.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t forget my cues,” Hunk says with a laugh. “And I can’t believe you did all of your monologues so well! You really were great, Lance.”

“Thanks,” Lance replies, grinning. “There’s a lot more left. Hopefully we can keep this up until the end.”

* * *

Keith leads Viola onto the stage, correcting himself as soon as he realizes his back is to the audience. They’re a little off blocking, Lance notes, but it’s nothing that’ll change the whole scene.

“If the duke continues these favours towards you, Cesario, you are like to be much advanced,” Keith says, rushing through a little too quickly. “He hath known you but three days, and already you are no stranger.”

Viola tilts her chin upwards for a second, giving Keith a calculating look. “You either fear his humour or my negligence, that you call in question the continuance of his love. Is he inconstant, sir, in his favours?”

“No, believe me,” Keith replies quickly, shoulders sagging for a second. His lines are over, but he still has to stay onstage for a little longer.

“I thank you,” Viola says, then turns to the stairs on the left. “Here comes the count.”

“Who saw Cesario, ho?” Lance asks, striding onto the stage confidently.

“On your attendance, my lord, here.”

Lance takes a breath and launches into his next line. “Stand you a while aloof, Cesario. Thou know’st no less but all. I have unclasp’d to thee the book even of my secret soul. Therefore, good youth, address thy gait unto her. Be not denied access, stand at her doors, and tell them, there thy fixed foot shall grow till thou have audience.”

He catches Keith’s gaze for a split second behind Viola. Keith nods encouragingly, and Lance turns his attention back to Viola.

The rest of the scene goes smoothly. He and Viola go back and forth a few times, he delivers his big speech about Diana’s lips and woman’s shrill voice, and the lights fade out on the scene.

Lance climbs down the stairs and switches off his mic, then turns to find Keith. His boyfriend is already attempting to pull his hair out of the silk bow the wardrobe crew had put it in.

“You still have to go on for bows and stuff, you know,” Lance reminds him, gently reaching up and untangling the ribbon. “Are you sure you want this out?”

“Definitely,” Keith replies with a sigh. “Besides, bows aren’t for a long time. I could probably get Hunk to tie it in again before we have to go up.”

Deciding not to push the matter further, Lance unties the bow and hands it back to Keith. “Glad it’s over?” he asks.

“Yeah. Although watching the actors from up close was kind of fun,” Keith admits with another shrug. “I wish I could do that from offstage.”

“Just hide a bunch of cameras,” Lance jokes. “Or… You could always audition for the play next year.”

“Are you insane? No way,” Keith laughs, shaking his head. “I’ll help out behind the scenes, and that’s it.”

“Fair enough. You can still watch me ace the main role from backstage.” Lance nods approvingly. “Come on, I don’t have another scene for a while. Let’s go cause some trouble or something.”

“Let’s not,” Keith says, but he follows Lance further backstage anyway.

* * *

The middle part of the play breezes by pretty quickly. Lance is only in a couple of scenes in between, so he and Keith hang around backstage or squeeze behind the stairs to watch the play. Lotor does a fantastic job as Olivia, even when Zethrid starts taking pictures with the flash on. (Something Allura had advised against in her introductory speech.) In fact, he’s so convincing that when he steps offstage and immediately reverts back to his Princely self, Lance gets confused for a second.

He’s beginning to like the story more and more, though. When Allura had first announced that they were doing Twelfth Night, he’d been less than enthusiastic, but after practicing so hard and for so long, he’s really starting to see the play’s appeal. It’s sad, funny, relatable in ways he can’t really describe. He’s really going to miss working on it after school every day.

Finally, it’s the reveal scene. The scene where everything comes together, all the secrets unwind and everything starts to make sense. Honestly, it has to be one of Lance’s favorites, despite how long and complicated it seems at first.

Fabian and the Fool recite their lines quickly, then turn to him as he walks onstage. “Belong you to the lady Olivia, friends?” he asks, pretending to survey the scene.

“Ay, sir,” the fool responds. “We are some of her trappings.”

The scene continues with Lotor proclaiming his marriage to Cesario (aka Viola), Antonio and Sebastian reuniting, and Orsino marveling at the similarities between Sebastian and Cesario. Finally, Viola reveals herself as a woman, reuniting with her brother for real and shocking Olivia and Orsino.

Sebastian turns to Lotor, explaining the mistake quickly. “You are betroth’d both to a maid and man,” he finishes, addressing both the characters onstage and the audience.

Lance nods in agreement. “Be not amazed. Right noble is his blood. If this be so, as yet the glass seems true, then I shall have share in this most happy wreck.”

He turns to Cesario, now revealed as Viola, and continues. “Boy, thou hast said to me a thousand times that thou never should love woman like to me.”

“And all those sayings will I overswear,” Viola promises, stepping closer. “And those swearings keep as true in soul as doth that orbed continent the fire that severs day from night.”

“Give me thy hand, and let me see thee in thy woman’s weeds,” Lance commands. Viola begins her line about the captain, and soon after that the Fool re-enters with Malvolio’s letter. As the scene continues, Lance allows himself to relax a bit. He’s glad that Orsino doesn’t have many lines during the letter-reading part of the scene, since it gives him time to go over the rest of his lines.

Fabian exits to retrieve Malvolio, and Lotor turns to Lance. “My lord so please you, these things further thought on, to think me as well a sister as a wife. One day shall crown the alliance on’t, so please you, here at my house and at my proper cost.”

“Madam, I am most apt to embrace your offer,” Lance replies with a slight bow, before turning his attention back on Viola. “Your master quits you,” he continues, “and for your service done him, so much against the mettle of your sex, so far beneath your soft and tender breeding. And since you call’d me master for so long, here is my hand: you shall from this time be your master’s mistress.”

The audience applauds as Viola leans in and kisses him on the cheek, joining their hands together. Lance smiles, catching Florona’s eye in the audience, then Pilar’s. He might be imagining it, but he can swear that he feels Keith watching him from the stairs, too.

_ We did it, _ he thinks to himself, smile growing until it almost hurts.  _ We really did it. _

“Cesario, come,” he says a few minutes later, reciting his final line as the play comes to an end. “For so you shall be, while you are a man. But when in other habits you are seen, Orsino’s mistress and his fancy’s queen.”

* * *

The actors line up to take their bows as the audience cheers and claps. Lotor stands on Lance’s left, Viola on his right, with Keith and Hunk next to each other a few people over. They bow together, hands joined, three times each. The spotlight fades for the final time that night, and the curtains draw closed dramatically.

Keith is walking offstage before it’s even all the way down, switching off his mic and untangling it from behind his ponytail. (Someone had tied his hair back up before he’d had to go on stage again.)

“You survived!” Lance exclaims, pulling Keith into an enthusiastic hug. “You did so good for your first time!”

“Gee, thanks,” Keith replies, tone dripping with sarcasm. “Really though, that play was great. If I didn’t know any better, I wouldn’t have been able to tell that we recasted.”

“Really? You wouldn’t?”

“Except for me, really. You and Lotor both did great with your lines and your blocking and stuff.” Keith grins proudly. “I can’t wait to see how you perform when you’ve got more time to practice. It must be amazing.”

“Good job out there, you two!” Pidge exclaims, popping up beside them. She’s still got her headphones looped around her neck, but for once she’s not devoting half of her attention to a computer screen. “I can’t believe you actually pulled it off!”

“You mean you didn’t have faith in us the whole time?” Lance asks, pretending to be offended. “Pidge, you wound me.”

“God, enough with the Shakespeare talk,” Keith groans, slapping a hand over Lance’s mouth. (He resists the urge to lick it. He’s not  _ that _ immature.)

“You  _ do _ realize that we’ve got more performances, right?” Pidge points out, raising an eyebrow.

“We can think about that later,” Lance replies hurriedly, pulling away from Keith’s hand and waving her off. “One performance at a time, right?”

“Hey, great performance!” Hunk says, striding up to their group. “I’m so pumped to watch it back. We should do a screening or something.”

Keith groans again, covering his face with his hands. “ _ Nooo… _ ”

“That might be a little much,” Lance agrees. “Maybe in a few months?”

Hunk relents with a shrug, not seeming particularly bothered. “I guess it’d be good to wait a little bit. We wouldn’t want to get sick of Shakespeare, now, would we?”

Lance turns to hide an eyeroll, but instead he sees Florona running over to him, a grin on her face. “Lance, that was great!” she almost yells, crashing into his chest and throwing his arms around him. “I forgot what a good actor you are!”

“Thanks, Flora,” Lance says with a matching grin. He’s not really sure if she’s  _ supposed _ to be back here, but if there’s anyone Allura will make an exception for, it’s Florona.

“We’re glad you could come,” Hunk adds as Florona pulls herself off of Lance.

“Of course I came! You think I’d miss Lance’s first big role?”

“You might if you knew Lance would announce your preferences to everyone in the auditorium,” Hunk points out, rather unhelpfully.

“Hey, that was Pidge’s fault! She should have told us before she turned on the speakers,” Lance protests.

“ _ My _ fault?” Pidge squwaks indignantly. “ _ I _ wasn’t the one who forgot to turn off my mic!”

“It was just a bad coincidence,” Florona cuts in, patting Lance on the shoulder. “I’m actually kinda glad it happened.”

“Aww…” Hunk cooes. “Because you got to sit next to Acxa?”

“What? Of course not!” Florona protests, crossing her arms. “I just meant it helped me get over my nerves. Acxa was just- She probably just wanted to say hi, okay?”

“Sure,” Lance teases, smirking. Florona pouts indignantly.

“Lance, who are you to judge?” Pidge argues. “You spent the better part of this year obsessing over Lotor.”

Now it’s Lance’s turn to pout, turning away from his friends dramatically. “It’s not the same,” he protests with a sniff.

“Hey, I’m kinda hungry,” Hunk says suddenly, taking pity on him. “I didn’t get a chance to eat before they put my makeup on. Want to go to Sal’s and get some pizza?”

“I’m game if you guys are,” Lance agrees, dropping his offended act instantly. “Just let me text my mom.”

“I’ll tell her,” Florona says, waving him off when he reaches for his phone. “I should get back, anyway. My mom doesn’t like me to stay out for too long.”

“You sure you don’t want to join us?” Hunk offers.

“Nah, I’m alright. You guys have fun, okay?”

With that, Florona turns and heads off towards the exit. She waves over her shoulder before disappearing.

“So?” Hunk raises an eyebrow, turning to Keith and Pidge questioningly. “Pizza?”

“Sure,” Keith says with a shrug. “I just want to change first, if that’s okay.”

“Same here. This costume is so freaking hot,” Lance says as they head towards the door. “Why couldn’t Duke Orsino just wear a T-shirt?”

“Well, he wouldn’t want to make your life any easier, would he?” Pidge says with a smirk. “Hurry up and go get changed. I’ll wait here.”

“We’ll be back in a second,” Lance promises, following Keith and Hunk to the bathrooms. He smooths his hand over the material of his vest and smiles. Sure, the costume is a little uncomfortable, but he kind of likes wearing it. Taking it off is like admitting that the play is over, even if it’s just for the rest of the day.

But they have other performances, and there will be other plays. Ones that he can work on with his friends, practice with his castmates, and perform for his family. He’s already looking forward to the next performance, and it hasn’t even been an hour since their last one ended.

Yes, he decides, it’s not that big of a deal after all. What’s more important right now is relaxing without having to worry about forgetting his lines or messing up his blocking.

Keith takes his hand for the short walk to the makeshift changing rooms, and then again on the way to Sal’s. He’s relaxed, too, now that their first performance is over, and for that Lance is glad. He’s missed stress-free Keith.

The night air is warm as they step outside, but there’s a bit of a late-spring breeze as well, so he’s glad that the walk is short. He lags behind with Keith while Pidge and Hunk walk ahead, arguing about olives on pizza again. Lance half-listens in contentedly, falling further back.

“Lance, Keith, hurry up,” Pidge calls, pausing to hold the door open for them. “I want to get inside before it gets all crowded.”

“Alright, we’re coming,” Lance replies as they duck through the door to Sal’s. A warm gust of air accompanied by the smell of fresh pizza hits him as he steps inside, a strangely perfect ending to an already amazing day. He squeezes Keith’s hand as Hunk leads them to their normal booth, a soft smile spreading across his face. He can’t help it; it’s a good night all around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading To the Unknown Beloved! It was a fun one to write, especially because I got to develop the relationships between some of the major and minor characters of Unknown.  
> I know a lot of you want to know more about Keith's mom and his fear of hospitals, and luckily I can assure you that your questions will start to be answered fairly soon! I have a whole plan for the Unknown series which slowly develops the characters and small plot points that were touched upon in Unknown, so don't worry!  
> Special thanks to my beta [Blip](https://blipspan.tumblr.com/) for editing the Unknown series! She's been very helpful and amazing :)  
> [My Tumblr](https://djbunn3.tumblr.com/)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm really excited about this fic, and I hope to have the next chapter up soon.  
> [My Tumblr](https://djbunnt.tumblr.com/) :)


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